I was listening to new mothers talk the other day, and one of them was freaking out "How do you know they won't take your baby to Mexico??" Another mother said she never got a reference from anyone, she just eyeballed them and decided on the spot if she could leave them with her kids and never had a bad experience.

As a sitter, what do you provide to a prospective customer?

What services are you offering, java? Is it the sort of consulting where you handle multiple clients at once?

I consult for biotech and pharma companies who want to publish and send their data to global regulatory agencies for drug approval. I am a specialist in eCTDs, which are a highly particular file/folder structure with an xml-based backbone. I hope that makes sense? I can handle multiple clients, but I landed one particularly lucrative gig that is for 2-3 days a week until at least April 2013 where I am readying the company for their first NDA filing in eCTD format. An NDA is the New Drug Application a company submits after they've completed all of their human studies (safety and efficacy). Historically submitted via paper, these studies could literally fill my entire house when printed out. So you can see why companies are eager (and yet, anxious) to send it in electronically.

Hope that wasn't too much info. I really love what I do for a living, as it involves communication, technology, lots of working alone doing the pre-publishing work...but it also includes face-time with clients while I train them. And so many people are afraid of change and technology - I love seeing them cross over and gain confidence.

javachik, I'm glad your consulting is going so well, and I hope you find a way to carve out some time for you.

Thanks for all the input, y'all! Here's a revised list.

Babysitting: $10/hr for one child; $4/hr per additional child, with a limit of three children
Dog walking: $8 per ½ hr walk per dog
Petsitting: $15/visit (feeding, scooping cat pan or dog walk); meds $5 extra per visit
Carpentry/handy stuff/furniture assembly: $25/hr and up, depending on the nature of the task ($25 minimum)

As a sitter, what do you provide to a prospective customer?

Well, I have First Aid/CPR certification, flea offered to write me a reference and I could probably get a local one, and I don't currently have a passport so I'm not a big flight risk.

Java, you are a testimony to the value of a niche. Good on ya. It sounds like you've built a wonderfully symbiotic business.

smonster, I agree with everyone else, your prices are good, but on the low end.

If you'd like a model, visit saving grace services dot com...no spaces and check out our rate table for pet sitting and walking. Again, they are big cities prices, but might be appropriate, depending on the neighborhoods you are targeting.

Also, the advice about a minimum which takes into account travel time was a hard-taught lesson for me. I don't like working off the Hill, but as my reputation grows, I'm getting some pretty far flung referrals. I don't want to turn them down, but I also don't want to lose money on the getting there. Thus, a travel surcharge.

I know you theoretically liked your gig, before it all fell apart, javachik--are you happy with what you have now? It looks like you didn't really have downtime, so that's good!

Thanks, guys!

ita !, I think I am happy but I'll have a better sense of everything after a few months! Thanks for asking. One thing that is important to me is time for myself for vacations, etc. I don't want to be one of those consultants who never takes time for vacation. This year though, I have a large home-improvement project that is going to take a lot of money (garage to home-office conversion*) so I may only take a short, cheap vacation this year to set aside money for the project.

* I like to have house guests and with my current set up, I have no room to accommodate them - so I want the conversion sooner than later.

Planning for vacations is a 'pay yourself first' principle that is one of those do-as-I-say things. I don't do it for myself but really applaud you for taking care of yourself in that way. Doing so means you will have more and better to give your clients.

I am going on vacation right now and it's fucking great! And since one of our donors designated the funds, we are fiscally obligated to enjoy ourselves.

Liese, so excited for you!

Time off is of the utmost importance. Put it on the calendar and try to stick to it. Despite my reputation for working around the clock and always being a bit worn out, I actually try to do a pretty good job about time off. It's usually 3 to 6 weeks a year, depending upon how we can make it all work.